Safety coupling



Jan. l, 1924 1,479,706

P. W. r--LEISczl-IERv SAFETY COUPLING VFiled Jan. ze. 1921.

Patented Jan. l', 1924.

UNITED STATES PAUL W. FLEISCHER, 0F WEEHAWKEN HEIGHTS, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO AMERI- 1,479,706 PATENT OFFICE.A

CAN CAN COMPANY, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0F NEW SAFETY COUPLIN G.

Original application led December 6, 1915, Serial No. 65,266. Divided and this application filed January 26, 1921. Serial No. 440,009.

To all (whom t may concern."

Be it known 'that I, PAUL W. FLEISGHER,

" j a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Weehawken Heights, in the county of Hudson and Stateof New Jersey, have invented Safety is a specification'.

The invention relates to ay safety coupling, which may lbe in the nature vof a shaft coupling or clutch, designed for the mutual connection of driving and driven power elements in such manner that when undue strainfis encountered by and imposed upon the driven element the coupling will releasel itself and the driving element will become disconnected from the driven element, whereby thel `mechanical instrumentalities operated by the driven element will become safe from breakage, misshapement and disorganization. v

My safetycoupling, herein described and claimed, was disclosed in my' application Serial No. 65,266 for can closing machines,

filed -December 6,'1915, wherein it was claimed asv an element of a can closing mechanism.v This present application is a divison of Isaid former application .andclaims said safety coupling per se, 'as a mechanicalv appliance for use indany kind of machinery for which it is adapted.

It is desired to drive many machines with high power and at compartively high speed and from'various causes the driven 'elements ofthe machines may become jammed and the machine lstopped against the: full power of The result of this is or may be quite serious, requiring the manufacturing operation tolbe suspended,.with

loss of time or material, until a broken orl injured part of the mechanism can be replaced or repaired. According to the presentr improvement there' is provided, at a suitable point in the train of driving elements, a yielding or friction driver or coup- .ling which overcomes all of the resistance diie tothe ordinary and designed operations L of the machine, butwhich will' yield in. the case of unusual obstruction or resistanceand allow ythe said mechanisms to come safely to rest, while the primekmotor and main power shaft or element of the. machine driven thereby, may continue to operateuntil the power is thrown ofi' or cut out.

Thereupon the removal of any jammed material or article can be accomplished, the

readjustment of the machine perfected if` necessary, and the manufacturing operation continued without further delay.

Vith such objects in view, as well, as the attainment of all other features of usefulness and advantage which are inherent in the improved safety coupling, the invention consists in theparts and combinations thereof hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In` order to maker` the invention more clearly understood there are shown in the accompanying drawings means for carrying Vthe same into practical effect, without limiting the improvements, in their useful appli-l A cations, to the particular construction which,

for the purpose'of explanation, has been made the subject of illustration. In the said drawings Fig. l is a vertical sectional view /illus plan View of one of the coupling elements.

Fig. 3' is a top. plan. view of thev corresponding coupling element.

Fig. 4: is a vertical sectional view on line IV-fIVv ofV Fig.- 2. v

Fig. 5 is a side view ofthe coupling elements with some adjacent parts.

Referring to the drawings, in .which I have shown only a poition'eof a machine l r.

sufficient for the understanding of my invention, 377.1s a gear casing, shown 1n this instance as located at or near the top part of l the machine. In this casing is arranged and' mounted a horizontal power shaft 380 which may be understood as actuated by any suitable prime inotor. This shaft has keyed thereto and within the casing 377 a worm 381 which meshes with and drives a worm gear 382 mounted near the top of the vertical driving shaft 59.l The shaft 59 may be considered as being the operating element of the working parts of the machine (not shown) which are to be made safe from injury. The beveled gear 383, beveled pinion 384, and shaft .217 cannot be rendered independent of their driving elements, which may. be often desired, and they are operated more directly'from the power shaftand not through the medium of the safety coupling.

75 trating driving and driven mechanism comln order that there may be no danger of breakage or damage of any ot the numerous parts which may be operated 'by ythe cam shaft 59, lbecause ot anything becoming jammed in their mechanism, there is provided at the upper extremity of the vertical drive shaft 59 a yieldable friction driving safety slip or latch device, which will give if anything should arrest the'proper operation of the machine@ The worm gear 382 is rotatably mounted upon a sleeve 387 keyed to the vertical cam shatt 59. ',lthe lower end of this sleeveis provided with an annular collar 388 upon which the worm gear 382 rests. ln theupper face of the worm gear is an annular depression 389 in which is secured a case hardened steel latch ring 390. Above the worm gear and vertically slidably mounted upon the sleeve 387 by means of a feather key 391 is an outer sleeve or latch hub 392. This latch hub is also provided at its lower end with an annular surface 393 which bears upon the ring 39() in the wormv gear 382. rllhe ring 390 is provided in its upper tace with two beveled notches 394 located oit center or non-diametrically and adapted to receive and normally retain two case hardened steel beveled latches 395 (Fig. 2) securedin recesses designed to receive the same in the lower face of the collar 393 ot the hub 392. Bearing upon the upper face of the collar 393 is a compression spring 396 which Ais ad.i justablyheld under tension by a lock nut 397 threaded onto the upper end of the inner sleeve 387. rlhe tension of the spring is made sufficient to hold the blocks `inthe notches for the transmission of power under ordinary conditions. But if any extraordinary tension jammedrin the mechanism driven by the shaft 59, the worm gear A382 will continue to Arotate but will torce the beveled blocks 395 up against the pressure ot the spring and out Aot engagement with the knotches 394. rll`he blocks 395 -will then rest upon the smooth surface of the ring 390 as it rotates until the notches 39a make a complete revolution and again register with the blocks 395, and, it"

the obstruction is still in the machine, will again force the blocks out ot engagement without rotating the drive shaitt 59.' 'llhis will continue until the obstruction or `undue tension is removed, and then when the notches and blocks again register they will clutch and rotate as a unit. llhe tension required to operate the machine under normal conditions is regulatedby the nut 397 on the inner sleeve 387, which may be loosened or tightened to lessen or increase the pressure of the spring.

'llhe two beveled blocks 395 and the corresponding notches 394 are located 0H the diametrical center' line. 'llhis particular construction is desirable to insure a comis caused vby something` Leraren plete revolution ot the worm gear 382 before they can again engage. Were it not tor this they would interclutch when they had made but one halt of a revolution with increased coupled with the power and its driving 'unctlons would be resumed.

lit will be observed from the foregoing, that my improvement doesnot consist merely in automatically-releasing coupling and clutch elements, but in such elements so constructed and arranged that they are on both sides of, or on a nearly diametrical line relative to, the center of rotation; furthermore this line issuiiicie'ntly nondiametrical to prevent any reengagement of the coupling parts at the end of a half-revolution and to permit recoupling wheni at the end ot a complete revolution, with preservation of the proper.

timing of the parts which are driven respectively by the shaft 217 andtheshaft 59.

' My improvement givesto the power coupling device a `wide bearing extending' on both sides of the center 'of rotation, which is important for strength and also for proper disengagement and re-engagement, and also for purposes of economical manufacture, and ll also obtain the essential result of preserving the proper related timing ot various branches of the operating mechanism, "ot those which are driven through and by means ot the power coupling and of those which are driven independently of said coupling.

llhe subject of the present application was also disclosed in lmy original application Serial No.4 64,494, filed December 1, 1915, of which my saidv application Serial No. 65,266 'was a division; but. is not claimed therein. p

llt will be understood that'the annular surtace or collar 393 may be the integral bottom dange of the latch hub 392, or it may be a ring attached to the latch hub in a manner similar to 390.

ll claim: f 1. lln a safety of a rotary driving member, a rotary driven member, coupling elements on said members respectively and arranged at each side ot the axis of rotation, so that there is a driving engagementl at each side ot the axis, and on a non-diametrical line, said elements being tapered and automatically disengageable by excess oitl resistance ot the driven member, and a spring acting to. press said coupling, lthe combination i couping elements intov coupling engagement with each other.

2. lln a safety coupling, the combination of a rotary driving member, a rotary driven member, coupling elements fixed' on said members respectively at each side of the axis of` rotation and out-of line therewith, and a spring acting to press said coupling elements into coupling 'engagement with each. other, whereby said couplingelements When disengaged are'kept out of coupling engagement during one complete revolution of the driving member-and then reengaged by the action of the spring.

3. In a safety coupling, the combination of a rotary driving member, a rotary driven member, coupling elements on said members respectively and arranged at each side of the axis of rotation and on the chord of ai circle around said axis, said elements being tapered and automatically disengageable by excess of resistance of the driven member, and a spring actingto press said coupling elements into coupling engagement with each other.

4. In a safety coupling, the combination of a rotary driving member, a rotary driven member, coupling elements on said members respectively and arranged at each side of the axis of rotation and on the chord of a circle around said axis, said elements being tapered and automatically disengageable by excess of resistance of the driven member, and a spring acting to press said coupling elements into coupling engagement with each other, one of` said rotary members being a sleeve and the otherv of said rotary members being a Wheel, both arranged on Y said axis of rotation.

. 5. Ina safety coupling, the combination of arotary driving member, a rotary driven member, coupling elements on said members respectively and arranged at each side of the axis of rotation and on the chord of a circle around said axis, said elements bekof said coupling elements being parallel with said chord.

6. ln a safety coupling, the combination' of a shaft, a sleeve fixed to turn with said shaft, a gear Wheel mounted loosely on said sleeve, an outer sleeve having means Where- .by it is caused to turn with the first sleeve and is longitudinally slidable thereon, a spring for forcing said outer sleeve yieldingly toward said gear Wheel, means for increasing or decreasing the tension of said spring, and mutually engaging and automatically releasable safety coupling elements,''a part of said elements being fixed on said outer sleeve and a part of said coupling elements being fixed on said gear Wheel, said coupling elements being arranged on a non-diametrical chord of a circle of rotation of said shaft and Wheel.

7. ln a safety coupling which disengages under abnormal strain and automatically re-engages after on revolution, the combination of rotary driving and drivenf'elementsi one of which is provided with ag plurality of recesses and the'other of which is provided With a plurality of latches, said elements retaining the recesses and latches from movement due to centrifugal force, said recesses and latches being constructed and arranged to disengage under abnormal rotary strain, and each latch being re-engageable only with. its own recess from which it disengaged.

In testimony whereof l aliix my signature.

PAUL W. FLEISCHER. 

